Stand-alone to date
Goodreads Blurb:
"Who knew the zombie apocalypse would be caused by something we all know is deadly...but that is also all around us? Two stories intersect as the world delves into chaos - Earl, a drugged out heroin addict constantly in search of his next fix, and a family struggling with the dramas of everyday life, get no reprieve during this zombie outbreak. Can any of them survive the deadliest game of all - survival against undead, each other, and the world around them?"
Review:
Thank you to one of the authors, Riley Westbrook, for gifting me with a copy of Everyone Dies At The End in exchange for an honest review!
1. The plot. I really loved the plot line of this book. Because it's such a short length (87 pages), you'd think the plot line would be more difficult to develop. While there were some missed opportunities for explanations and elaborations on the infection, I think that in general, this is quite a nice (if horror can be nice) little story! It kept me interested until the last page.
2. The characters. Again, because of the short length, there wasn't as much character development as a full length novel but that's neither here nor there. For the page length, I think the author did a wonderful job making sure the relevant parts of each character were brought to light.
3. The ending. The one thing that I really didn't enjoy was the ending. Without saying too much, it felt like a cop-out ending. I was really looking forward to a creepy ending where maybe everyone actually did die in the end but it was taken in the 'wake up from a dream' direction. It was fine, but I think there definitely are better options out there.
4. The writing and the atmosphere. I really liked how the author wrote to create such a creepy atmosphere. It's really crucial in horror (or scary in general) to have a creepy atmosphere so the reader really gets sucked in and I think the author accomplished that.
The Final Verdict:
A wonderfully creepy horror novella with nicely imagined and executed characters and plot. I do wish the ending was handled differently, however.
4 stars
That cover is way too creepy for me.
ReplyDeleteHaha that's what makes it a wonderful Halloween read!
DeleteIt can be incredibly difficult to write a short novel well. It just seems like there is not enough time to cram in all the ingredients for a good novel! But it sounds like this one has managed to handle that issue pretty well, despite it being flawed. It still sounds like a good read. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteFor sure! I constantly have to tell myself that short stories only have so much time and I make sure to look at the page count before judging. Thanks for stopping by, Olivia!
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